Formation of the “Holy Alliance” of the monarchs of Russia, Austria-Hungary and Germany for mutual assistance in the fight against the revolution. Congress of Vienna and the Holy Alliance

CHAPTER 8 THE KEEPER OF THE HOUSE: 1815–1825

Question 30.Napoleonic Wars 1805 – 1814

In 1805, Napoleon defeated the third anti-French coalition, which was created by Great Britain with the participation of Russia, Austria, the Kingdom of Naples and Sweden. The Austrians surrendered Vienna without a fight, and after the defeat of the combined Russian-Austrian troops in the Battle of Austerlitz December 2, 1805. signed peace with Napoleon. Napoleon's joy was overshadowed only by the disaster that befell the French at sea. October 21, 1805 the combined Franco-Spanish fleet was almost completely destroyed by the British squadron under the command of Admiral Nelson in naval battle off Cape Trafalgar off the coast of Spain. IN 1806. A fourth anti-French coalition arose, in which Prussia took the place of Austria, which had dropped out of the war. However, the French completely defeated the Prussian army in the battles of Jena and Auerstedt.

At the end of October 1806, Napoleon, at the head of the “grand army,” entered Berlin. Here he accepted important decision, designed to equalize the chances of victory with Great Britain after the defeat in the Battle of Trafalgar. November 21, 1806. Napoleon signed a decree on the continental blockade. According to this decree, trade with Great Britain was prohibited on the territory of France and its dependent countries. Napoleon hoped that a continental blockade would undermine Britain's economic power. The accession of new European countries to the continental blockade became the goal of his foreign policy for the coming years.

In East Prussia, after a series of fierce battles ( crucial was the French victory at Friedland on June 14, 1807). France and Russia concluded a truce in 1807. A July 7, 1807. The French and Russian emperors signed an alliance treaty in Tilsit. In exchange for joining the continental blockade, Alexander 1 enlisted the support of Napoleon in the wars against Sweden and the Ottoman Empire. Here, in Tilsit, a Franco-Prussian treaty was signed, according to which Prussia also joined the continental blockade. In addition, she was losing her Polish lands, captured as a result of the divisions of Poland in 1793 and 1795. On these lands, the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, friendly to France, was formed.

In 1807, Napoleon, in the form of an ultimatum, demanded that Portugal join the continental blockade. The French army invaded this country. A long-term war began, during which British troops arrived to help the Portuguese. In 1808, war engulfed the entire Iberian Peninsula. Trying to finally subjugate Spain, Napoleon placed his brother Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. But the Spaniards rebelled and launched a guerrilla war against the invaders - Guerrilla. Austria decided to take advantage of the French failures on the Iberian Peninsula. IN 1809. it formed together with Great Britain fifth coalition. However, at the Battle of Wagram, Napoleon defeated the Austrians and forced them to sign peace in October 1809. Austria lost a number of territories, including access to the Adriatic Sea, reduced its army, paid large indemnities and joined the continental blockade.

Napoleon, at his own discretion, redrew the political map of Europe, changed governments, and placed monarchs on thrones. The “daughter” republics were partially abolished and annexed to France. As a result of these annexations, the “Great Empire” arose, the population of which by 1811 reached 44 million people. Along the perimeter of its borders. Napoleon formed a continuous strip of states subject to himself. In them for the most part A monarchical system of government was established, and the people appointed by Napoleon ruled, as a rule, his relatives - brothers, sisters, nephews, etc., or local dynasties or officials (at the same time N.B. assumed the powers of protector). Napoleon primarily sought from dependent countries support for his foreign policy, including participation in campaigns of conquest. In addition, as a man of educational culture, he sought to reform the subject countries “following the French model.” For example, the Napoleonic Code was in effect in all territories annexed by France.

In 1812, having not completely defeated the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, Napoleon began new war with Russia. He was prompted to this by the exorbitant ambition and increasingly independent policy of Alexander I, who neglected his allied obligations - he did not support France in the war against Austria (in 1809), and encouraged smuggling trade with Great Britain.

Napoleon's Grand Army invaded Russia June 12 (24), 1812 It numbered over half a million people, significantly outnumbering the Russian army. Two-thirds of the army consisted of soldiers from countries allied or dependent on France - Germans, Poles, Italians, Spaniards - most of whom went to war without much enthusiasm

The largest battle of this campaign took place August, 26th(September 11) 1812 near the village of Borodino, when the French approached Moscow to a distance of only a few tens of kilometers. By that time, due to the heavy losses suffered by the Napoleonic army, the forces of the opponents were almost equal. However battle of Borodino did not give a significant advantage to either side. The commander-in-chief of the Russian army, M.I. Kutuzov, decided to retreat and surrender Moscow to the enemy without a fight. Most Muscovites left the city following the army.

Fires began in the city soon after the arrival of the French, in which two-thirds of all feed burned. The army was threatened by famine. After waiting a month in indecision, Napoleon withdrew the army from Moscow on October 7 (19) and tried to break through to Kaluga, where the food warehouses of the Russian army were located. But having received a rebuff, he was forced to retreat.

The defeat of the Grand Army in Russia served as a signal for the creation of a new anti-French coalition. Along with Russia and Great Britain, it included Prussia, Sweden and Austria. The start of the 1813 campaign was unsuccessful for the Allies. In May, the French achieved victory in the battles of Lützen and Bautzen in Saxony. But already in August, prominent Napoleonic military leaders MacDonald and Oudinot were defeated separately, and in September Ney. And in "Battle of the Nations" near Leipzig October 16-19 The main forces of Napoleonic army were also defeated.

The defeat at Leipzig marked the decline of the political and military power of Napoleonic France. The last allies left her. The peoples of Europe, one after another, shook off foreign domination. Twenty years of almost continuous wars since 1792 have bled France dry. Its direct irreversible losses amounted to about one million people. The country is tired of war. The youth avoided military service. The 350,000-strong Allied army, which entered French territory in December 1813. Napoleon was able to oppose her with only about 70 thousand soldiers.

During the campaign of 1814, Napoleon showed off his talent as a commander for the last time. Mid-February was especially successful for him, when he scored seven victories in eight days. But these victories were local significance and could not change the general course of the war. On March 1, in the city of Chaumont, located halfway from the Rhine to Paris, Great Britain, Russia, Austria and Prussia signed an alliance treaty providing for war with France until complete victory.

On March 30, Allied troops approached the walls of Paris. On the same day, its defenders, fearing the fate of Moscow, laid down their arms. The next day, Emperor Alexander I and the Prussian King Frederick William III, at the head of their armies, entered the French capital.

Napoleon, whom these events found at the castle of Fontainebleau, did not lose hope of maintaining power. He was still surrounded by 60 thousand loyal soldiers. But marshals Ney, Berthier, Lefevre lost faith in victory and advised the emperor to abdicate in favor of his son, the King of Rome. Napoleon hesitated for several days; on April 6, he finally signed the abdication. But on April 1, at the suggestion of Talleyrand, the Senate formed a provisional government, and on April 3 announced the deposition of Napoleon, guilty “of violating the oath and an attempt on the rights of the people, since he recruited into the army and levied taxes in circumvention of the provisions of the constitution.” On April 6, the Senate offered the crown to Louis XVII. April 11, 1814 The allies concluded a treaty at Fontainebleau, which gave the island of Elba in the Mediterranean Sea to Napoleon for life.

"One Hundred Days of Napoleon" Waterloo. Historical results of the Napoleonic wars.

10 months of Bourbon rule was enough to once again revive pro-Napoleonic sentiment in France. Louis XVIII published a constitutional charter in May 1814. According to it, the king's power was limited to a 2-chamber parliament. However, the old French aristocracy and clergy demanded from the government the complete restoration of feudal rights and privileges and the return of land holdings.

Napoleon took advantage of the dissatisfaction with the Bourbons, who secretly left the island of Elba and landed on the southern coast of France on March 1, 1815 in order to regain power. As he advanced towards Paris, people came over to his side. local authorities and the troops sent against him. On March 20, Napoleon triumphantly entered the capital, from which Louis XVIII, his ministers and dignitaries fled in panic.

The collapse of the Restoration stirred up the patriotic and democratic feelings of the French. They were again ready to defend “the homeland and freedom,” but at the same time they expected Napoleon to behave not like a despot, but like a revolutionary general. However, the additional act to the constitutions of the empire that he promulgated on April 22 caused deep disappointment in democratic circles: it differed little from the Bourbon Charter.

However, Napoleon had no time to engage in domestic politics. The governments of the European powers, which convened a congress in Vienna, declared him “an enemy and disturber of the peace of the whole world” and formed a new (seventh) anti-French coalition. Hastily gathering an army, Napoleon moved to the Netherlands, where near the town Waterloo June 18, 1815. A decisive battle took place with the coalition forces. Having suffered defeat, he was forced to abdicate the throne for the second time and surrendered to the British, who, in agreement with the allies, sent him to the place new link(actually imprisonment) to the island of St. Helena in the Atlantic Ocean (where he died in 1821)

A direct consequence of the Napoleonic Wars was the collapse of feudalism throughout Europe. These wars paved the way for progress, the main tenet of which is the recognition of the fact that every capable person can achieve much in life, regardless of his background. The consequences of the reforms carried out during the war in countries subject to the French invasion turned out to be lasting. Having freed themselves from Napoleonic France, the governments and peoples of Europe did not want to give up most of them, since they had already managed to appreciate their merits. New principles of rational law, which took root in most European countries, began to emerge in the 19th century. one of the most important prerequisites for their prosperity.

At the same time, the Napoleonic wars led to the rise of the patriotic movement throughout Europe. However, patriotism on the basis of absolutist states, which were the majority of the participants in the anti-French coalition, back at the beginning of the 19th century. divided into two currents. One of them inherited the rebellious, oppositional spirit of the American rebels and the French revolutionaries. His supporters did not share, but combined love for their homeland with the desire for transformation in accordance with the advanced theories of their time. Another current, under the influence of absolutist governments, was imbued with the official spirit and acquired a pronounced conservative, protective overtone. Both varieties of the patriotic movement manifested themselves during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Congress of Vienna 1814 – 1815 Theory and practice of the Holy Alliance of 1815

IN September 1814 An international congress opened in the capital of the Austrian Empire, Vienna. He was faced with the task of defining new rules of relations, including agreeing on the recognition of borders, in order to avoid new disputes and wars, of which the whole of Europe was quite tired. 216 representatives from all European countries (except the Ottoman Empire) arrived in Vienna to participate in the congress. Formally, all participants in the congress had equal rights. But the main role was played by 4 allied powers, the main participants in the fight against Napoleonic France - Russia, Great Britain, Prussia and the Austrian Empire. On behalf of the four powers, the negotiations were conducted by Russian Emperor Alexander I, British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh, Prussian First Minister Prince von Hardenberg and Austrian First Minister Prince von Metternich. On Congress of Vienna Talleyrand, now Louis XVIII's foreign minister, also arrived.

The work of the congress was reduced mainly to meetings of representatives of the 4 powers, to which delegates from other countries were invited as needed. Informal meetings, exchanges of opinions, and conversations played a big role. At first, congress participants were distrustful of the French delegation. However, Talleyrand skillfully took advantage of the differences between the victorious powers to raise the prestige of France.

Almost all issues discussed at the congress caused controversy. Some congress participants advocated returning to the borders of 1792. But this was opposed by the largest states - Russia, Prussia and Austria, who were counting on territorial rewards for their contribution to the victory over Napoleonic France. The question of the existence of the Holy Roman Empire of the German people, abolished by Napoleon, caused a lot of controversy.

To justify their intentions, the monarchs referred to the theory of legitimism, or legality. But they interpreted the legitimate order itself differently, depending on their own interests and goals. Many understood legality, adhering to the principle of historical interpretation of legitimism (the basis of historical Legitimism is a return to time-tested values ​​- religion and church, the monarchical structure of the state, the class system). Such views are called reactionary.

Russia sought from other countries recognition of the legality of Finland joining it in 1809 and Bessarabia in 1812. The difficulty of the issue was that these acquisitions were made with the approval of Napoleonic France, with which Russia was in allied relations at that time. But most importantly, Russia sought to annex the territory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Everyone objected to this large states. Prussia and Austria - because in this case we were talking about Polish lands that were transferred to these countries under treaties of the 18th century. about the divisions of Poland. Great Britain and France - because they believed that this would lead to an imbalance of power in Europe in favor of Russia.

Sharp disagreements arose between Austria and Prussia in connection with the latter's intention to seize Saxony. In the end, Russia and Prussia managed to come to an agreement among themselves. Prussia agreed to the transfer of the territory of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw to Russia in exchange for the latter's agreement to maintain its claims to Saxony. However, other states stubbornly refused to make any concessions. The contradictions reached such intensity that it seemed that a split between yesterday's allies was inevitable. At the beginning of 1815, Great Britain, France and the Austrian Empire entered into a secret military alliance against Russia and Prussia. There was a smell of a new war in Europe.

The fear of the “usurper” that gripped European courts (at this time Napoleon was fleeing the island of Elba) helped smooth out the contradictions between the powers and pushed them to seek a compromise.

As a result, Russia received the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, with the exception of some lands transferred to Prussia and Austria. In addition, the Congress of Vienna confirmed Russia's rights to Finland and Bessarabia. In both cases this was done in violation of historical law. The territory of the Duchy of Warsaw never belonged to Russia, and even in ethnically(language, religion) it had little to do with her. The same can be said about Finland, which has long been the possession of the Swedish kings. In compensation for the loss of Finland, Sweden, as an active participant in the wars against Napoleonic France, received Norway.

The dispute between Prussia and Austria over Saxony was settled amicably. Prussia eventually achieved part of Saxony, although it counted on its entire territory. However, Prussia was quite satisfied with this solution to the controversial issue, since it was additionally given vast lands in western Germany, including on the left bank of the Rhine. Austria also did not remain offended. Part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw was returned to her, as well as possessions on the Balkan Peninsula, previously taken away by Napoleon. But Austria received the main reward for its contribution to the war against Napoleonic France in Northern Italy. She has been there since the beginning of the 16th century. owned Lombardy. Now, in addition to this, the territory of the Venetian Republic, including Dalmatia, passed to it. The small states of central Italy - Tuscany, Parma, Modena, etc. - were returned to Austrian control.

The Sardinian kingdom, captured by the French back in the 90s of the 18th century, was restored as an independent state. In recognition of his services, he was given the territory of the Genoese Republic, which had been abolished at one time by the French and was never restored at the end of the Napoleonic wars.

The fate of the largest republics of the Middle Ages - Genoese and Venetian - was shared by the Republic of the United Provinces (Holland). Its territory, together with the Southern Netherlands, which until the end of the 18th century. owned by the Austrian Habsburgs, became part of the rather large Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was supposed to serve as a buffer between France and the German states, who thus wanted to protect themselves from a repetition of French aggression.

Only the Swiss Confederation escaped the common fate of these republics of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the modern era. It was preserved by the Congress of Vienna and received the status of a neutral state.

European monarchs decided not to restore the Holy Roman Empire. In fact, they came to terms with many of the territorial changes that Napoleon carried out in Germany. In particular, they did not restore the hundreds of small states that he abolished. Most of them went to Austria, Prussia or other larger German states

At the Congress of Vienna, it was decided to form a new confederation within the borders of the Holy Roman Empire called the German Confederation.

As a result, after the Congress of Vienna, constitutions were introduced in France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and in a number of West German states. Alexander I granted constitutions to the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Finland, which enjoyed autonomy within the Russian Empire. The struggle for the introduction of constitutions unfolded in Spain, Prussia and the Italian states, however, it took revolutions in the early 20s in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, as well as revolutions in the 1830s in France and Belgium, for the principle of constitutional government to be accepted in a number of other states. Nevertheless, after the Congress of Vienna, Europe became much freer politically than it was before it.

The Congress of Vienna had barely ended when September 26, 1815. The monarchs of Russia, Prussia and Austria signed an agreement in Paris to create the so-called Holy Alliance. It proclaimed the “unshakable determination” of the three sovereigns to be guided in their actions by “the commandments of the holy faith, love, truth and peace,” and also to “give each other assistance, reinforcement and assistance at any time and under any circumstances.” Over time, most other European states joined the Holy Alliance.

In the first years after the Congress of Vienna, the Holy Alliance represented one of the main forms of international cooperation between European states. Four of its congresses took place. The first of them took place in 1818 in the city of Aachen in Western Germany. At this congress, France was finally recognized as an equal by four other powers: Great Britain, Prussia, Austria and Russia signed an alliance treaty with it. The so-called “quintuple union” (pentarchy) was created, which formally remained until mid-19th V. and ensured the peace and stability of Europe during this time.

At the end of 1820 - beginning of 1821, a double congress of the Holy Alliance took place in Austria. It started in Troppau and ended in Laibach (Ljubljana) in Austria. Finally, the 1822 congress took place in Verona (Northern Italy). Since then, no congresses of the Holy Alliance have been held. The main form of interaction between the largest states in the international arena was conferences convened on any specific occasion, or consultations of ambassadors in London, St. Petersburg or the capitals of other powers.

Restoration of the monarchy. Reasons for the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte's empire.

Reasons for the fall of N.B. External:

1) N.B. had authority among the population as long as he waged successful wars of conquest and maintained the high international status of the country. When in 1813 the enemy invaded France for the first time since 1793, a catastrophe occurred and his authority was undermined.

Internal:

1) general fatigue of the population from wars;

2) depletion of human and material resources;

3) negative results of the continental blockade for France. French trade was damaged. Fr. entrepreneurs did not have access to goods from other countries (?).

4) constant recruitment into the army - shortage of workers in production.

5) the food crisis, which was associated with the crop failure of 1811-1812.

6) a constant increase in direct and indirect taxes, which were needed for military expenses. The poll tax, the salt tax, and a number of indirect taxes were doubled.

Factors for the restoration of the monarchy:

1) the population’s desire for the monarchy increased, since already during the revolution many republicans were discredited. They did not have the former value for the people.

2) foreign policy factor. Masters of the position ( monarchical countries- Russia, Austria, Prussia, England), who had been at war with revolutionary France for 25 years, believed that only the restoration of the Bourbons would have a positive effect.

1815, subsequently all the monarchs of continental Europe gradually joined, except the Pope and the Turkish Sultan. Not being in the exact sense of the word a formalized agreement of the powers that would impose certain obligations on them, the Holy Alliance, nevertheless, went down in the history of European diplomacy as “a close-knit organization with a sharply defined clerical-monarchist ideology, created on the basis of the suppression of the revolutionary spirit and political and religious free-thinking, wherever they appear."

History of creation

Castlereagh explained England's non-participation in the treaty by the fact that, according to the English constitution, the king does not have the right to sign treaties with other powers.

Signifying the character of the era, the Holy Alliance was the main organ of the pan-European reaction against liberal aspirations. Practical significance it was expressed in the resolutions of a number of congresses (Aachen, Troppaus, Laibach and Verona), at which the principle of intervention in the internal affairs of other states was fully developed with the aim of forcibly suppressing all national and revolutionary movements and maintaining existing system with its absolutist and clerical-aristocratic tendencies.

Congresses of the Holy Alliance

Aachen Congress

Congresses in Troppau and Laibach

Typically considered together as a single congress.

Congress in Verona

Collapse of the Holy Alliance

The post-war system of Europe created by the Congress of Vienna was contrary to the interests of the new emerging class - the bourgeoisie. Bourgeois movements against feudal-absolutist forces became the main driving force historical processes V continental Europe. The Holy Alliance prevented the establishment of bourgeois orders and increased the isolation of monarchical regimes. With the growth of contradictions between the members of the Union, there was a decline in the influence of the Russian court and Russian diplomacy on European politics.

By the end of the 1820s, the Holy Alliance began to disintegrate, which was facilitated, on the one hand, by a retreat from the principles of this Union on the part of England, whose interests at that time were very much in conflict with the policy of the Holy Alliance both in the conflict between the Spanish colonies in Latin America and metropolis, and in relation to the still ongoing Greek uprising, and on the other hand, the liberation of the successor of Alexander I from the influence of Metternich and the divergence of interests of Russia and Austria in relation to Turkey.

“As for Austria, I am confident in it, since our treaties determine our relations.”

But Russian-Austrian cooperation could not eliminate Russian-Austrian contradictions. Austria, as before, was frightened by the prospect of the emergence of independent states in the Balkans, probably friendly to Russia, the very existence of which would cause the growth of national liberation movements in a multinational Austrian Empire. As a result, in the Crimean War, Austria, without directly participating in it, took an anti-Russian position.

Bibliography

• For the text of the Holy Alliance, see " Full Assembly Laws", No. 25943.
• For the French original, see Part 1 of Vol. IV “Collections of treatises and conventions concluded by Russia with foreign powers” ​​by Professor Martens.
• "Mémoires, documents et écrits divers laissés par le prince de Metternich", vol. I, pp. 210-212.
• V. Danevsky, “Systems of political balance and legitimism” 1882.
• Ghervas, Stella [Gervas, Stella Petrovna], Réinventer la tradition. Alexandre Stourdza et l’Europe de la Sainte-Alliance, Paris, Honoré Champion, 2008. ISBN 978-2-7453-1669-1
• Nadler V.K. Emperor Alexander I and the idea of ​​the Holy Alliance. vol. 1-5. Kharkov, 1886-1892.

Links

• Nikolai Troitsky Russia at the head of the Holy Alliance // Russia in the 19th century. Lecture course. M., 1997.

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what “Holy Alliance” is in other dictionaries:

The alliance of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of the empire of Napoleon I. The goals of the Holy Alliance were to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna 1814-1815. In 1815, France and... ... joined the Holy Alliance. Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SACRED ALLIANCE, alliance of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of Napoleon I. Objectives Holy Alliance were to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna 1814 15. In 1815, the Holy Alliance was joined by... ... Modern encyclopedia

The alliance of Austria, Prussia and Russia, concluded in Paris on September 26, 1815, after the fall of Napoleon I. The purpose of the Holy Alliance was to ensure the inviolability of the decisions of the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15. In November 1815, France joined the union,... ... Historical Dictionary